Part 5

Fruit, large, three inches and a quarter wide, and three inches and a half high; roundish-ovate, inclining to oblong, with irregular and prominent angles on the sides, which extend to the apex, and form ridges round the eye. Skin, dark green at first, and changing, as it attains maturity, to pale greenish yellow on the shaded side; but tinged with orange on the side next the sun, and strewed with a few fawn-colored dots. Eye, open, set in a deep, narrow, and angular basin. Stalk, short, inserted in a deep cavity. Flesh, yellowish, tender, pleasantly sub-acid, and with a somewhat sugary flavor.

An excellent culinary apple of first-rate quality, in use from November to March.

23. BELLE BONNE.--Lind.

IDENTIFICATION.--Lind. Guide, 63. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 43.

SYNONYMES.--Winter Belle boon, _Park. Par._ 587. Winter Belle and Bonne, _Raii Hist._ II. 1448. Winter Belle and Bon, _Worl. Vin._ 156. Rolland, _Acc. Lind. Guide_.

Fruit, above medium size, three inches wide, and three and a quarter high; ovato-conical. Skin, thick, pale greenish yellow, and marked with a few redish streaks on the side next the sun. Eye, small and closed. Stalk, half-an-inch long, obliquely inserted under a fleshy lip. Flesh, firm, juicy, and well-flavored.

A valuable culinary apple, in use from October to January. The tree is very hardy, a strong, vigorous, and healthy grower, and a good bearer.

This is a very old English variety. It was known to Parkinson so early as 1629, and also to Worlidge and Ray. But it is not noticed by any subsequent author, or enumerated in any of the nursery catalogues of the last century, until discovered by George Lindley, growing in a garden at Gatton, near Norwich, and published by him in the Transactions of the London Horticultural Society, vol. iv., p. 58. He seems to be uncertain whether it is the Summer, or Winter Belle Bonne of these early authors, but Worlidge’s description leaves no doubt as to its identity. He says “The Summer Belle et Bonne is a good bearer, but the fruit is not long lasting. The Winter Belle and Bon is much to be preferred to the Summer in every respect.” I have no doubt, therefore, that the latter is the Belle Bonne of Lindley. Parkinson says “they are both fair fruit to look on, being yellow, and of a meane (medium) bignesse.”

24. BELLEDGE PIPPIN.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 49.

SYNONYMES.--Belledge, _Lind. Guide_, 36. Belledge Pippin, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 1, 65.

FIGURE.--Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. xvi., f. 4.

Fruit, below medium size, two inches and a half wide, and two inches high; roundish, narrowing a little towards the apex, regularly and handsomely formed. Skin, pale green, changing to yellow as it ripens, with a tinge of brown where exposed to the sun, and strewed with grey, russety dots. Eye, small, partially closed with short segments, and placed in a round, narrow, and rather shallow basin. Stalk, half-an-inch long, inserted in a round and deep cavity. Flesh, greenish yellow, tender, soft, brisk, sugary, and aromatic.

An excellent, but not first-rate apple, suitable either for the dessert or culinary purposes. It is in use from November to March.

25. BELLE GRIDELINE.--Lind.

IDENTIFICATION.--Lind. Plan Or. 1796. Lind. Guide, 36.

SYNONYME.--Belle Grisdeline, _Fors. Treat._ 93.

Fruit, medium sized; round, and regularly formed. Skin, clear yellow, marbled and washed with clear red, and intermixed with thin grey russet next the sun. Eye, set in a deep, round basin. Stalk, slender, deeply inserted in a round cavity. Flesh, white, firm, crisp, and briskly flavored.

An excellent dessert apple, in season from December to March. The tree is healthy and vigorous, of the middle size, and an excellent bearer.

This beautiful variety was first brought into notice by Mr. George Lindley, who found it growing in a small garden near Surrey Street Gates, Norwich, where it had originated about the year 1770. Mr. Lindley first propagated it in 1793, and the original tree died about seven years afterwards.

26. BENNET APPLE.--Knight.

IDENTIFICATION AND FIGURE.--Pom. Heref. t. 21. Lind Guide, 101.

Fruit, somewhat long, irregularly shaped, broad at the base, and narrow at the apex, but sometimes broader at the middle than either of the extremities. A few obtuse angles terminate at the eye, which is small and nearly closed, with very short segments. Stalk, half-an-inch long, and very slender. Skin, dingy colored russety grey in the shade; and shaded on the sunny side with numerous streaks and patches of orange color and muddy red.

The specific gravity of the juice is 1073.

This is a good cider apple, and produces liquor of great excellence when mixed with other varieties. It is chiefly grown in the deep strong soils of the south-west part of Herefordshire, and is common in the district known as the Golden Vale. Knight says it was a very old variety, and was known previous to the 17th century, but I have not been able to find any record of it in the early works on Pomology.

27. BENWELL’S PEARMAIN.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 534. Lind. Guide, 64.

Fruit, medium sized; pearmain-shaped. Skin, dull green with broken stripes of dull red, on the side next the sun. Eye, small, set in a shallow and slightly plaited basin. Stalk, deeply inserted in a round cavity, scarcely protruding beyond the base. Flesh, yellowish white, crisp, juicy, brisk, and aromatic.

A dessert apple, in use from December to January.

It received its name from a gentleman of the name of Benwell, of Henley-on-Thames, from whom it was received, and brought into cultivation by Kirke, a nurseryman at Brompton.

28. BERE COURT PIPPIN.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Trans. vol. v. p. 400. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 55. Lind. Guide, 10.

Fruit, medium sized; round, and slightly flattened. Skin, pale green, and changing to yellow as it ripens, with stripes of red next the sun. Eye, open, placed in a wide and shallow basin. Stalk, inserted in a deep cavity. Flesh, crisp, juicy, and briskly acid.

An excellent culinary apple, in use during September and October.

This variety was raised by the Rev. S. Breedon, D.D., of Bere Court, near Pangbourne, in Berkshire.

29. BESS POOL.--Ron.

IDENTIFICATION.--Ron. Pyr. Mal. 46.

SYNONYME.--Best Pool, _Fors. Treat._ 94.

FIGURE.--Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. xxiii. f. 8.

Fruit, above medium size, two inches and three quarters wide, and nearly three inches high; conical, and handsomely shaped. Skin, yellow, with a few markings of red on the shaded side; but where exposed to the sun it is almost entirely washed and striped with fine clear red. Eye, small, and partially open, set in a rather deep and plaited basin, which is surrounded with five prominent knobs or ridges. Stalk, short and thick, inserted in a rather shallow cavity, with generally a fleshy protuberance on one side of it, and surrounded with yellowish brown russet, which extends over a considerable portion of the base. Flesh, white, tender, and juicy, with a fine, sugary, and vinous flavor.

An excellent apple either for culinary or dessert use. It is in season from November to March.

The tree is hardy, a vigorous grower, and an abundant bearer. The flowers are very late in expanding, and are, therefore, not liable to be injured by spring frosts.

30. BEST BACHE.--Knight.

IDENTIFICATION.--Pom. Heref. t. 16. Lind. Guide, 194.

SYNONYME.--Bache’s Kernel, _Acc. Pom. Heref._

Fruit, medium sized; oblong, with obtuse angles on the sides, which extend to the apex. Skin, yellow, shaded with pale red, and streaked with darker red, interspersed with a few black specks. Eye, small, segments short and flat. Stalk, short and stout.

Specific gravity of the juice 1073.

A cider apple, grown in the south-east part of Herefordshire.

31. BETSEY.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 57.

Fruit, small, about two inches wide, and an inch and three quarters high; roundish, inclining to conical and flattened. Skin, dark green at first, and considerably covered with ashy grey russet; but changing to pale yellow, and with a brownish tinge on the side next the sun. Eye, open, with short reflexed segments, and set in a very shallow depression. Stalk, short, about a quarter of an inch long, with a fleshy protuberance on one side of it, and inserted in a shallow and narrow cavity. Flesh, greenish yellow, tender, juicy, rich, and sugary.

A dessert apple of first-rate quality, in use from November to January.

32. BIGGS’S NONESUCH.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Trans. vol. I. p. 70. Lind. Guide, 88. Rog. Fr. Cult. 40.

SYNONYME.--Bigg’s Nonsuch, _Fors. Treat._ 116.

FIGURE.--Brook. Pom. Brit. pl. lxxxviii., f. 3.

Fruit, medium sized; round, and broadest at the base. Skin, yellow, striped with bright crimson next the sun. Eye, open, with long reflexed segments, set in a wide and deep basin. Stalk, short, and deeply inserted. Flesh, yellowish, tender, and juicy.

An excellent culinary apple, in use from October to December. It is fit for use immediately it is gathered off the tree, and has a strong resemblance to the old Nonesuch, but keeps much longer.

The tree is hardy and an excellent bearer; attains to the medium size, and is less liable to the attacks of the Woolly Aphis than the old Nonesuch.

This variety was raised by Mr. Arthur Biggs, the intelligent and scientific gardener to Isaac Swainson, Esq., of Twickenham, Middlesex.

33. BIRMINGHAM PIPPIN.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Lind. Guide, 38. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 59.

SYNONYMES.--Grumas’s Pippin, _Fors. Treat._ 105. Brummage Pippin, and Grummage Pippin, _Acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ Stone Pippin _of the Nursery Catalogues_.

Fruit, small, two inches and a quarter wide, and an inch and three quarters high; round, and slightly flattened. Skin, pale dingy yellow, mottled and veined with very thin grey russet, and russety round the base. Eye, small, quite open, frequently without any segments, and placed in a very slight depression. Stalk, short, scarcely at all depressed. Flesh, greenish, very firm, crisp, and juicy, briskly and pleasantly flavored.

A very good dessert apple; in use from January to June.

It is remarkable for the firmness and density of its flesh, and Mr. Lindley says, its specific gravity is greater than that of any other apple with which he was acquainted.

The tree is of diminutive size, with short but very stout shoots. It is a good bearer.

This variety is supposed to be a native of Warwickshire. It is what is generally known in the nurseries, under the name of Stone Pippin, but the Gogar Pippin is also known by that name.

34. BLAND’S JUBILEE.--H.

SYNONYMES.--Jubilee Pippin, _Hort. Trans._ vol. v., 400. Bland’s Jubilee Rose Pip, _Nursery Catalogues_.

Fruit, large, three inches and a quarter wide, and two inches and three quarters high; round, narrowing a little towards the eye, and obscurely ribbed. Skin, dull yellow tinged with green, but changing to clear yellow as it ripens; marked with russet in the basin of the eye, and strewed over its surface with large russety dots. Eye, small and closed, with long acuminate segments, set in a narrow, deep, and even basin. Stalk, short, inserted in a moderately deep cavity. Flesh, yellowish, tender, crisp, juicy, sugary, and perfumed.

An excellent apple, either for culinary purposes, or the dessert. It is in use from October to January.

This was raised by Michael Bland, Esq., of Norwich. The seed was sown, on the day of the jubilee which celebrated the 50th year of the reign of George III., in 1809, and the tree first produced fruit in 1818. It is not a variety which is met with in general cultivation, but deserves to be more extensively known.

35. BLENHEIM PIPPIN.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 70. Lind. Guide, 38. Down Fr. Amer. 81.

SYNONYMES.--Blenheim, _Acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ Blenheim Orange, _Ibid._ Woodstock Pippin, _Ibid._ Northwick Pippin, _Ibid._ Kempster’s Pippin.

FIGURE.--Pom. Mag. t. 28. Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. xxxi. f. 2.

[Illustration]

Fruit, large, the average size smaller than represented in the accompanying figure, being generally three inches wide, and two and a half high; globular, and somewhat flattened, broader at the base than the apex, regularly and handsomely shaped. Skin, yellow, with a tinge of dull red next the sun, and streaked with deeper red. Eye, large and open, with short stunted segments, placed in a round and rather deep basin. Stalk, short and stout, rather deeply inserted, and scarcely extending beyond the base. Flesh, yellow, crisp, juicy, sweet, and pleasantly acid.

A very valuable and highly esteemed apple, either for the dessert or culinary purposes, but, strictly speaking, more suitable for the latter. It is in use from November to February.

The common complaint against the Blenheim Pippin is, that the tree is a bad bearer. This is undoubtedly the case when it is young, being of a strong and vigorous habit of growth, and forming a large and very beautiful standard; but when it becomes a little aged, it bears regular and abundant crops. It may be made to produce much earlier, if grafted on the paradise stock, and grown either as an open dwarf, or an espalier.

This valuable apple was first discovered at Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, and received its name from Blenheim, the seat of the Duke of Marlborough, which is in the immediate neighbourhood. It is not noticed in any of the nursery catalogues of the last century, nor was it cultivated in the London nurseries till about the year 1818.

The following interesting account of this favorite variety was recently communicated to the Gardener’s Chronicle. “In a somewhat delapidated corner of the decaying borough of ancient Woodstock, within ten yards of the wall of Blenheim Park, stands all that remains of the original stump of that beautiful and justly celebrated apple, the Blenheim Orange. It is now entirely dead, and rapidly falling to decay, being a mere shell about ten feet high, loose in the ground, and having a large hole in the centre; till within the last three years, it occasionally sent up long, thin, wiry twigs, but this last sign of vitality has ceased, and what remains will soon be the portion of the woodlouse and the worm. Old Grimmett, the basket-maker, against the corner of whose garden-wall the venerable relict is supported, has sat looking on it from his workshop window, and while he wove the pliant osier, has meditated, for more than fifty successive summers, on the mutability of all sublunary substances, on juice, and core, and vegetable, as well as animal, and flesh, and blood. He can remember the time when, fifty years ago, he was a boy, and the tree a fine, full-bearing stem, full of bud, and blossom, and fruit, and thousands thronged from all parts to gaze on its ruddy, ripening, orange burden; then gardeners came in the spring-tide to select the much coveted scions, and to hear the tale of his horticultural child and sapling, from the lips of the son of the white-haired Kempster. But nearly a century has elapsed since Kempster fell, like a ripened fruit, and was gathered to his fathers. He lived in a narrow cottage garden in Old Woodstock, a plain, practical, laboring man; and in the midst of his bees and flowers around him, and in his “glorious pride,” in the midst of his little garden, he realized Virgil’s dream of the old Corycian:--“Et regum equabat opes animis.”

The provincial name for this apple is still “_Kempster’s Pippin_,” a lasting monumental tribute, and inscription, to him who first planted the kernel from whence it sprang.”

36. BOROVITSKY.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 74. Lind Guide, 3. Down. Fr. Amer. 70.

FIGURE.--Pom. Mag. t. 10.

Fruit, medium sized, two inches high, and about the same in width; roundish and slightly angular. Skin, pale green strewed with silvery russet scales on the shaded side; and colored with bright red, which is striped with deeper red on the side next the sun. Eye, set in a wide and plaited basin. Stalk, an inch long, deeply inserted in a rather wide cavity. Flesh, white, firm, brisk, juicy, and sugary.

An excellent early dessert apple, ripe in the middle of August.

This was sent from the Taurida Gardens, near St. Petersburg, to the London Horticultural Society in 1824.

37. BORSDORFFER.--Knoop.

IDENTIFICATION--Knoop. Pom. t. x. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 73. Down. Fr Amer. 99.

SYNONYMES.--Porstorffer, _Cord. Hist._ Reinette Batarde, _Riv. et Moul. Meth._ 192. Borstorf, _Knoop. Pom._ 56. Borstorff Hative, _Ibid._ 129. Borstorff à long queue, _Ibid._ 129. Bursdoff, or Queen’s Apple, _Fors. Treat._ ed. 3, 15, Red Borsdorffer, _Willich Dom. Encyc._ Borsdorff, _Lind. Guide_, 39. Postophe d’Hiver, _Bon Jard._ 1843. p. 512. Pomme de prochain, _Acc. Diel. Kernobst._ Reinette d’Allemagne, _Ibid._ Blanche de Leipsic, _Acc. Knoop. Pom._ Reinette de Misnie, _Acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ Grand Bohemian Borsdorffer, _Ibid._ Edler Winterborstorffer, _Diel. Kernobst._ II. 80. Edel Winterborsdorfer, _Ditt. Handb._ I. 372. Witte Leipziger, _Acc. Knoop. Pom._ Maschanzker, _Acc. Diel Kernobst._ Weiner Maschanzkerl, _Baum. Cat._ 1850. Winter Borsdorffer, _Acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ Garret Pippin, _Ibid._ King, _Ibid._ King George, _Ibid._ King George the Third, _Ron. Pyr. Mal._ 26.

FIGURES.--Knoop. Pom. t. x. Ron. Pyr. Mal. pl. xiii. f. 8.

[Illustration]

Fruit, below medium size; roundish oblate, rather narrower at the apex than the base, handsomely and regularly formed, without ribs or other inequalities. Skin, shining, pale waxen yellow in the shade, and bright deep red next the sun; it is strewed with dots, which are yellowish on the sunny side, and brownish in the shade, and marked with veins and slight traces of delicate, yellowish-grey russet. Eye, large and open, with long reflexed segments, placed in a rather deep, round, and pretty even basin. Stalk, short and slender, inserted in a narrow, even, and shallow cavity, which is lined with thin russet. Flesh, white with a yellowish tinge, crisp and delicate, brisk, juicy, and sugary, and with a rich, vinous, and aromatic flavor.

A dessert apple of the first quality, in use from November to January.

The tree is a free grower and very hardy, not subject to canker, and attains the largest size. It is very prolific when it has acquired its full growth, which, in good soil, it will do in fifteen or twenty years; and even in a young state it is a good bearer. If grafted on the paradise stock it may be grown as an open dwarf, or an espalier. The bloom is very hardy, and withstands the night frosts of spring better than most other varieties.

This, above all other apples, is the most highly esteemed in Germany. Diel calls it the Pride of the Germans. It is believed to have originated either at a village of Misnia, called Borsdorf, or at a place of the same name near Leipsic. According to Forsyth, it was such a favorite with Queen Charlotte, that she had a considerable quantity of them annually imported from Germany, for her own private use. It is one of the earliest recorded varieties of the continental authors, but does not seem to have been known in this country before the close of the last century. It was first grown in the Brompton Park Nursery in 1785. It is mentioned by Cordus, in 1561, as being cultivated in Misnia; which circumstance has no doubt given rise to the synonyme “Reinette de Misnie;” he also informs us it is highly esteemed for its sweet and generous flavor, and the pleasant perfume which it exhales. Wittichius, in his “Methodus Simplicium,” attributes to it the power of dispelling epidemic fevers and madness!

38. BOSSOM.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Trans. vol. iv., 528. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 75. Lind. Guide, 64.

Fruit, large and conical; handsomely and regularly formed. Skin, pale greenish yellow, considerably covered with russet, and occasionally marked with bright red next the sun. Eye, set in a shallow and plaited basin. Stalk, an inch long, inserted in a rather deep cavity. Flesh, yellowish white, tender, crisp, juicy, and sugary, and with a pleasant sub-acid flavor.

An excellent culinary apple, though not of the first quality, in use during December and January. The flesh is said to assume a fine color when baked.

39. BOSTON RUSSET.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 736. Down. Fr. Amer. 133.

SYNONYMES.--Roxbury Russeting, _Ken. Amer. Or._ 53. Shippen’s Russet, _Acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ Putman’s Russet.

Fruit, medium sized, three inches and a quarter wide, and two inches and a half high; roundish, somewhat flattened, narrowing towards the apex, and slightly angular. Skin, covered entirely with brownish yellow russet intermixed with green, and sometimes with a faint tinge of redish brown next the sun. Eye, closed, set in a round and rather shallow basin. Stalk, long, slender, and inserted in a moderately deep cavity. Flesh, yellowish white, juicy, sugary, briskly, and richly flavored.

A very valuable dessert apple, of the first quality, in season from January to April, and will even keep till June. It partakes much of the flavor of the Ribston Pippin, and, as a late winter dessert apple, is not to be surpassed.

The tree is not large, but healthy, very hardy, and an immense bearer, and, when grafted on the paradise stock, is well suited for being grown either as a dwarf, or an espalier.

This is an old American variety, and one of the few introduced to this country which attains perfection in our climate. It is extensively grown in the neighbourhood of Boston, U.S., both for home consumption and exportation, and realizes a considerable, and profitable return to the growers.

40. BOWYER’S RUSSET.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, p. 38. Lind. Guide, 87.

SYNONYME.--Bowyer’s Golden Pippin, _Acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._

FIGURE.--Pom. Mag. t. 121.

Fruit, small, two inches high, and about two and a half broad at the base; roundish-ovate. Skin, entirely covered with fine yellow colored russet. Eye, small and closed, set in a small and slightly plaited basin. Stalk, short, inserted in a round cavity. Flesh, greenish white tinged with yellow, crisp, brisk, and aromatic.

A dessert apple of the first quality, in use during September and October.

The tree attains a good size, is an abundant bearer, very healthy, and not subject to canker.

41. BRABANT BELLEFLEUR.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 45. Down. Fr. Amer. 102.

SYNONYMES.--Brabansche Bellefleur, _Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 1, 55. Brabant, or Glory of Flanders, _Rog. Fr. Cult._ 46. Iron Apple, _Acc. Ron. Pyr. Mal._ Kleine Brabänter Bellefleur, _Diel Kernobst._ viii. 133.

FIGURE.--Ron. Pyr. Mal. tab. xxxi. f. 3.

Fruit, large, three inches and a half wide, and three and a quarter high; roundish-ovate, inclining to oblong, or conical, ribbed on the sides, and narrowing towards the eye. Skin, greenish yellow, changing to lemon yellow as it attains maturity, and striped with red next the sun. Eye, large and open, with long broad segments, set in a wide and angular basin. Stalk, short, inserted in a deep and wide cavity, which is lined with brown russet. Flesh, yellowish white, firm, crisp, and juicy, with a sugary, aromatic, and pleasantly sub-acid flavor.

An excellent culinary apple of the finest quality, in use from November to April.

The tree is hardy, and though not strong, is a healthy grower, attaining the middle size, and an excellent bearer.

This variety was forwarded to the gardens of the London Horticultural Society by Messrs. Booth, of Hamburgh.

42. BRADDICK’S NONPAREIL.--Hort.

IDENTIFICATION.--Hort. Trans. vol. iii. 268. Lind. Guide, 87. Fors. Treat. 118. Hort. Soc. Cat. ed. 3, n. 465.

SYNONYME.--Ditton Nonpareil, _Acc. Hort. Soc. Cat._ ed. 3.

FIGURE.--Ron. Pyr. Mal. t. xxiv. f. 3. Hort. Trans. vol. iii. t. 10, f. 3.

[Illustration]

Fruit, medium sized; roundish and flattened, inclining to oblate. Skin, smooth, greenish yellow in the shade, and brownish red next the sun, russety round the eye, and partially covered, on the other portions of the surface, with patches of brown russet. Eye, set in a deep, round, and even basin. Stalk, half an inch long, inserted in a round and rather shallow cavity. Flesh, yellowish, rich, sugary, and aromatic.